Like the Snow
by Snowblade-of-NightClan
Summary: Born different than her litter mates, as well as the rest of WindClan, Silverkit is in for a kit hood of bullying and sheer lonliness. Guided by Midnightsnow - a cat from the clans beyond sea - Snowkit learns she has a strange and myserious power, and that the fate of the clans may just be in her tiny paws...
1. Prologue

~PROLOGUE~

Foxfoot paced back and fowarth nervously in front of the warriors den. His mate-Darkfur-was kitting, and Redsky wouldn't let him in. He moaned and sat down, covering his face with his white paws. His tail fluffed out.

"Come on, Foxfoot." The orange-and-white tom whirled around to see a light brown tabby with white splotches staring at him. The she-cat flicked her tail. "You're not going to do Darkfur - or yourself - any good sitting out here in the cold."

The tom looked back toward the nursery. "What if she starts kitting and I'm asleep?"

"You're being paranoid." She purred and walked up to him. "She has Redsky to take care of her." As if on cue, the bright red tom raced out of the nursery, across the clearing, and into the Medicine Cat den; then he ran back, carrying a bundle of herbs I didn't recognize. "He's the best Medicine Cat I can remember."

Foxfoot sighed. He knew better than to argue with Spottedtooth. She was old enough to step down and become an elder, but she refused to do so. Her moons of expirence were what had guided him since his kithood. She had seen three medicine cats come and go. She had seen the clans great journey from the forest. She had seen Onestar triumph over Mudclaw. She had seen everything.

"I guess you're right, Spottedtooth... I don't want to meet my kits looming like I just came from a battle." He stood and padded reluctantly into the den, purring softly as Spottedtooth rubbed up against his pelt. "Good night, Spottedtooth."

The she-cat nodded and padded over to the camp entrance. She nodded to Willowleap, who gratefully nodded back as the other walked over to take her place as a guard.

A cry from the nursery awoke the camp moments after Spottedtooth had taken her post. Foxfoot leapt out of the Warrior's den in one bound and raced across the clearing, only to be stopped by Quickfoot and Stonedream. The entire camp was flooded with tense energy as every cat stiffened, waiting to see Redsky pop out with news.

And news he had. "The first kit," he meowed softly. "A healthy tom. And three more on the way."

Foxfoot purred with relief, and the red face of the Medicine Cat darted back in behind the reeds.

Foxfoot pushed aside the tall grasses that concealed the entryway to the nursery. He called out softly, "Darkfur?"

The dark brown head with it's tell-tale white spot covering the she-cat's ear and right eye glowing in the dark den. Her green eyes were filled with pride. "Foxfoot, you're finally here." She gestured to five tiny bodies nestled into her belly. "We got an extra surprise."

"They're beautiful." The tom bent down and licked one of his kits, purring as he mewled in protest. "What are their names?"

She looked down at the kit closest to her face, and went down the line. "Dawnkit, Emberkit, Violetkit, and Mintkit." She purred with pride.

I glance at the fifth kit and gently poke it with my paw. It mewed weakly, struggling to lift her tiny head. "What about this one?"

Darkfur's pride diminished. She hissed. "The runt," she growled, "Is nameless."

Foxfoot stopped in shock. Darkfoot... shunning a kit? That's not like her. "Well then," the tom nervously pawed at the ground, "Can I name her?" Remembering Redsky's statement of three toms and two she-kits.

His mate scoffed. "I guess so."

He purred and bent down, licking the tiny body as it squirmed toward him. He thought for a moment, then finally meowed, "Silverkit."


	2. The WindClan Camp

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"I'm gonna catch you, Violetkit!" Dawnkit leapt onto his sister, sending both of them into a tumbling ball of orange and tan fur, crashing into the returning cats that had made up the hunting party.

"Hey!" Bloodlily cried as the kits collided with her, the rabbit she had caught falling from her jaws. "Again!?"

"Sorry, Bloodlily," Violetkit looked away from the warrior, ashamed.

"For StarClan's sake, be more careful!" The large calico she-cat bent down and picked the rabbit up once more and dropped it in the fresh-kill pile.

She was followed by Thistlenight, Sagepaw, Goldenfall, Rainsong, and Lightningpaw.

"Ugh, finally!" The two kits turned to see a black she-cat stretching in front of the elder's den. "I've been waiting for hours!"

"We all have, Crystalnight," a brown-spotted tom followed her out of the den. "You're not the only elder in WindClan."

"I know that, Tornwind," Crystalnight spat. "I'm not as old and dumb as you!"

Tornwind's fur stood on end as he hissed furiously back. He hunched his shoulders, crouching, and prepared to leap onto the she-cat.

"Crystalnight! Tornwind!" All eyes turned to the kit that was running out of the nursery. Her fur was blue, icy-blue, unnaturally. Her eyes were a deep sapphire, and she had a bit of fur covering her left eye. She tripped and fell, rolling in between the two elders. "Why are you fighting?"

"The tom," Crystalnight growled, "was..." The black cat's fury diminished. "He was..."

"I... can't seem to remember..." Tornwind sighed. "I guess I'm just showing my age..."

The blue kit purred. "That's good. Clan mates shouldn't fight with each other."

Crystalnight purred as well. "Silverkit is right. My deepest apologies, Tornwind."

Tornwind bowed his head. "The apology is returned."

The two elders began talking, and Silverkit sat up and trotted back to the nursery, head and tail held high, though she fell over again.

"Hello?" Foxfoot pushed his way into the nursery, a freshly killed vole hanging from his jaws. He looked around, figuring there was no one there. He turned to leave the den, when he was stopped.

"Foxfoot!" The red tom was on his belly with four little kits crawling atop his back. He purred.

"Hello, kittens. Is Darkfur here?"

"No. She's at the dirt place." The kits giggled. "She should be back soon though!"

"What was the patrol like?"

"Did you see a badger?"

"Was it mean?"

"What about ShadowClan warriors?"

"Did you fight them off?"

Foxfoot pushed himself up and shood the dust from his fur. "No, there were no badgers, or foxes, or ShadowClan cats. Just me, Cloverpelt," he prodded the vole, "and this vole."

"Aww..."

"How boring."

"Let's go see Redsky."

The kit brigade then leapt off the tom and raced out across the clearing. All but one. Foxfoot looked down at his little outcast, who had been sitting at the nursery entrance since he had arrived, gazing out at the bustling camp.

"Silverkit?"

The she-kit looked up at her father(she didn't turn), leaning back to see his face until she fell onto her back. "Yes?"

"Why don't you go play with your litter mates?"

"I don't see the point." Silverkit rolled over onto her stomach and shook herself. "How will that help me grow up?"

"Because, it teaches you the basics of battle. How to be a warrior. To keep your eyes on the enemy, and to never back down."

The kit sat up and gazed out into the camp once more. "I... don't want to be a clan cat..."

Foxfoot froze. Never before had he heard such insanity. "You... don't want to be a member of the clan?"

Silverkit shook her head. "I don't want any part in it. To me, it's all nonsense."

"Silverkit, what?!"

"All you ever seem to do... Is fight with each other..." The kit flicked her tail toward the warriors den, where Heathershade was stretching, soaking in the warmth that came with sun-high. "Look at her. She's got countless scars."

"I can only see three," the tom replied, swishing his fluffy tail.

"That's because they're not all in her skin." Silverkit looked down at her paws. "She lost her kits three times in a row. She hasn't tried again because of those scars." She flexed her tiny claws. "Wounds no medicine cat can heal."

The orange cat stared at her, breathless. "How... How do you know that?"

"I can see it. The scars of sadness and despair that have settled on her heart."

Foxfoot looked away. How in StarClan did she know all of this?! And seeing scars on her clan mate's heart? What is she talking about?! "I... I'm going to go see Onestar." And with that, he rushed out of the den, the vole he had caught for Darkfur still motionless on the floor.


	3. Silverkit's desire

"Onestar?" Foxfoot peered into the den through the grass that encased the entrance, slowly swaying in the breeze. "May I come in?"

"Foxfoot, it's a pleasure to see you." The brown tom bowed his head. "Yes, come in." The tom padded into the dark of the cave. "Why do you look so grim."

"I-It's Silverkit..." Foxfoot stuttered. "I... I think she may be part of some sort of prophecy..."

The elderly leader tipped his head in interest, seating himself on the soft dirt. "A prophecy? What sort so prophecy?"

The red tom shook his head. "I don't know. But she is... different than the other kits in her litter..."

"Different how?"

"She doesn't like to romp around with her siblings. She doesn't pester every cat she sees and ask if they saw a badger or a fox or an enemy warrior. She..." Foxfoot lowered his voice. "She told me... She didn't want to be a clan cat..."

Silverkit yawned quietly as she stared up at the sky, now stained pink and orange with the paint of sun-down. "It's so calm," she mewed, closing her eyes and letting the evening winds dance through her long, ice-blue fur. She could hear the song of the long, tall grass as it whistled in the gust. "The breeze feels... so nice..." She purred. "I feel... sleepy..."

The kit stood, stretched her short legs, and padded back into the den. She curled up in the nest, big and empty, closing her eyes and listening to her own even breathing, in and out, in and out... in... and... out... And allowed herself to fall far into the blackness of sleep and into her dreams.

"You say she knew of Heathertail's lost kits."

"Yes, sir," the tom replied, his long-furred tail swishing slowly left and right as he tried to decipher how he felt about the current situation.

"And you have never told her the story of Heathertail?" The red tom nodded. "What about Darkfur?"

"I'm not sure," Foxfoot replied. "She never told me."

"Go ask her," the brown tom replied. "We can't make be sure unless we have proof that she has never told the kits of Heathertail."

The red warrior nodded and took himself out into the clearing, looking around for his mate. Shallowgaze dragged herself out of the Elder's Den, stretching her old legs. He sighed, longing for age to claim him faster.

He padded into the nursery, nearly tripping over his sleeping kit. At the sight of the she-kit's sleeping face, he purred and took her up in his jaws, placing her into Darkfur's nest before silently padding out of the nursery to let his kit sink into her dreams.


End file.
